Virtually every home and apartment in this country has at least one refrigerator for storing perishable food products. Additionally, many households also have a freezer for storing food products over extended periods of time. As a consequence of such widespread usage, these domestic appliances consume a substantial part of the electrical energy which is generated by the nation's utility companies. In this regard, it should be noted that despite recent strides, refrigerators are still only half as efficient as the theoretical limit allowed by its use of the Reverse Carnot Cycle. Consequently, opportunity still exists to substantially increase the energy efficiency of domestic refrigeration appliances. Since even the newest refrigerators consume approximately 700 kwh of electricity per year, it should be understood that a substantial need still exists to increase the energy efficiency of domestic refrigeration appliances.
In addition, the cost of operating commercial refrigeration systems constitutes a substantial portion of the overhead expenses of the perishable food distribution industry. A reduction of the operating costs would likely translate into increased profit margins as well as a reduction in consumer prices.
Accordingly, it is a principle objective of the present invention to provide a system and method which reduces the energy required to operate a domestic and/or commercial refrigerator and freezer systems.
To achieve the foregoing objective, the present invention provides an energy transfer system for a refrigeration system. The energy transfer system includes a fluid passage disposed in the housing of a refrigeration appliance to enable transfer of a fluid into, through, and out of the housing. The fluid also herein known as a secondary refrigerant, is preferably circulated through a heat exchanger which can be disposed outside of the home or building or underground so that the fluid is cooled by convection by the outside air or by conduction to the ground. A set of conduits is provided which includes a first conduit to enable transfer of fluid from the heat exchanger to the fluid passages disposed in the housing, and a second conduit to enable transfer of the fluid from the conduits disposed in the housing back to the heat exchanger. Each of these conduits are disposed such that they extend through an external wall, floor, or roof of the home or building.
Further areas of applicability of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description provided hereinafter. It should be understood however that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the invention, are intended for purposes of illustration only, since various changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this detailed description.